


Shades of the Past

by ChaosQuartz



Category: Red vs. Blue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:15:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28396761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaosQuartz/pseuds/ChaosQuartz
Summary: Washington was viewed as a good man and a good soldier, but did anyone consider the ravaged hell that lay beneath the humble exterior. So many forces had plotted and schemed yet in the end only he was able to truly achieve his goals.
Kudos: 11





	Shades of the Past

There was a time when David believed in fighting for his people. A time when he happily sold his soul to the military in hopes that his sacrifice could prevent innocent lives from being slaughtered. A time when he believed he could trust his back to his fellow agents of Project Freelancer.

But that was a long time ago.

David was a young American youth who choose to enlist as a soldier of the UNSC army. He trained and fought knowing that any mistake could mean all the difference between life and death for him or one of his squadmates.

While it may seem at times to be a one-man show, the truth was that every man and woman depended on each other if they expected to see another sunrise. War was a showcase of teamwork and how well people of conflicting natures could accomplish a singular goal, even if that goal was simply surviving to see another sunrise.

Apparently, he’d been doing something right. He was called into his commander’s office, expecting to be berated for risking such a dangerous maneuver during a vital mission, instead he was given the offer of a lifetime. He was noticed and offered the chance to enter one of the UNSC’s newest projects.

Project Freelancer, an experimental task force comprised of the best soldiers humanity had to offer, each standing as the best of the best in their chosen field. The ultimate goal was to perfect a method so the UNSC could send out soldiers with armor enhancements that would allow them to rival the raw power of Spartans. This was to cut down on the time needed for Spartans to fully take to their enhancements, the money needed to fund the ongoing experiments, and the large number of deaths that emerged from the project's failed recruits.

No one really liked thinking about it, but it was impossible to ignore just how many lives and minds were lost to the morally questionable Spartan Project.

David didn’t hesitate. He joined and quickly became the laughingstock of Project Freelancer. Sure, he had his quirks, but compared to the others he’d been fortunate enough to only see the bare minimum of his outlets were pathetically harmless. He had his share of hazing as a rookie, but at times it seemed like they were just waiting for him to screw up. In his former unit he was the best, but just because you were the best in one group didn’t mean you held the same prestige in another.

While he stood head and shoulders above in an average unit, when it came to Project Freelancer, he soon learned he was barely average compared to the masters of the craft. He was a good shot, but Wyoming thrashed him at the shooting range every time. Florida was an absolute beast at adaptation and sneak attacks. York cracked codes before he could so much as glance at the first line. Maine was never an opponent you wanted to deal with in close combat. And Carolina…Does anything need to be said?

He quickly learned that just because one gathered the best, didn’t mean they’d immediately be able to work as a cohesive unit. The main problem was that the UNSC brought together fifty soldiers, each with their own eccentric qualities and expected them to work together as though they’d known each other for years. Admittedly as soldiers, they were trained to follow orders and be able to swallow their pride for the sake of the mission, to understand that the slightest hesitation could lead to a fatal mistake.

So, Washington made it his objective to be able to fulfill any task required. He would personally ensure that any team he was on was perfectly balanced. If they lack a sniper, he would train night and day until he qualified as one. If they lacked a stealth operative, then he wouldn’t be seen. If hand to hand combat was unavailable, then he’d let Maine pound him into the mat as many times as it took for him to become acceptable at grapples. In the end, his specialty was his willingness to be stepped on by his teammates. To become a jack of all trades, master of none in a program where being the best meant everything.

At the end of the day, he was a good soldier. He always followed orders. He killed on command. He completed every objective. And how was he rewarded for his loyalty? A spot on the leader board and envious eyes boring into the back of his skull.

The day they announced that the top agents were going to receive advanced AI to help them in battle, he felt giddy. Like all his hard work was finally paying off.

To be completely honest they were not what he was expecting.

Delta was amazing if a little too literal, but York was helping on that front. Theta was quite shy, he almost reminded him of a child, guess that’s why he was paired with North. Gamma was a full-on dick; he honestly was concerned when he heard Wyoming exchanging knock-knock jokes with the monotone AI. Sigma. He really didn’t know what to feel about Sigma, only that talking to him made his skin crawl.

The AI were so varied. He couldn’t help but wonder what his was going to be. He was hoping that they would get along. He was willing to work with anyone, but things tended to go smoother if he didn’t have to play nice 24/7.

Then Carolina had to be a sore loser when Texas came on the scene. David truly wondered what that woman’s motivation was. What drove her to excel? What pushed her to accept nothing but perfection time and time again? Why couldn’t she accept the comfort and aid York offered? Why did she have to seclude herself? What made her think taking on two experimental AI programs at once was even remotely sane?!

David never learned the answers he just watched as she dropped to the ground, clutching her head in pain, mirroring the horrifying actions of those around him. A single word triggered the fall of nearly half a dozen highly trained soldiers. That was a tipoff that something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t focus on that. He was focused on trying to bring his teammates to the infirmary, while blocking out the terrible sounds of their screaming.

Yet even after all that Carolina refused to relinquish her AI, either of them. Miraculously, he was already back on the list and scheduled to meet his new partner in a matter of hours. South was… not happy, but he couldn’t really remember a time when she was. The only difference was that she was becoming more prone to being violent. North really had his hands full. Looking back on their relationship, it really made David glad to have been an only child.

During the hours leading up to the operation, he contemplated how to greet his new ally. But in the end, he decided he’d start out with a simple hello or he’d risk making an ass out of himself. Besides this was a being designed to be the perfect partner that would help him through thick and thin, how bad would it be?

Famous last words.

Epsilon, the AI he was supposedly paired with to watch his back as the ultimate partner, wasted no time ripping his mind apart, leaving him with the jagged remains of what could barely be called sanity. Everything that made him David was dragged to the surface then shredded. Through it all, he saw every freelancer agent die horrible, unspeakable deaths again and again and again. The screaming never stopped but looking back he could never quite be sure the screams were Epsilon’s or his own. It just kept going, even after they removed him.

The brutal sting of betrayal of the people he saw as family turn traitor and start killing their fellow soldiers only served to deepen the cut. When the Mother of Invention went down none of his fellow agents bothered to look for him. He was saved by a few no-name grunts and deemed too mentally unstable to return to duty. The final nail came in the form of blood-stained metal turned a haunting white. The agony of abandonment as he was left to rot in a mental institute and much later a prison cell. As he sifted through memories of Alpha, Epsilon, Leonard, and David he wondered if anyone of his comrades look for him? Did he ever cross their minds? Was he deemed even worth the effort?

He may have viewed as one of the weaker members of Agent Freelancer, but he was still a member. Still a comrade. Didn’t that mean anything?

In the end, David had no place in this cruel and unforgiving universe. David couldn’t survive the torture and the loss, but Washington could. Yes, Agent Washington, one of the youngest members of Project Freelancer and one of its few surviving members. Agent Washington was a soldier and so much more. He could bear the agony, pain, betrayal, and keep on marching.

He was a survivor above all else.

It took a long time to accept Carolina back into his life. It hurt. It hurt to know she was out there while he was locked away. That she never tried looking for him or even wanted to tell him she survived. It hurt to know all that time he was planning to make his move he could have had a familiar face as backup. 

For years, he thought she was dead than out of the blue she shows up and demanded that he join her in her quest for vengeance. In some ways, it was comforting to see how little had changed, but the truth was she had and not for the better. Any kindness or compassion she once had was strictly reserved for their fellow agents long dead. She barely seemed to care about the backstabbing bitch South had become or how Florida simply disappeared after the crash; merely that they were gone, and they shouldn’t have been forced to make that sacrifice. She had no patience for working with those who didn’t meet her standards or delays, but the worst part was her temper. She always had a bit of an itchy trigger finger, but now it seemed like she was just begging for someone to screw up so she could blow a hole through their skull.

Out of respect for their past and his own instincts to support teammates, he tried to act as a buffer between Carolina and the simulation troopers. A temperamental commanding officer with little interest in trying to break down the strengths and weaknesses of their men was just begging to send them all home in body bags. He had extensive time getting to know the individual personalities and abilities of the reds and blues. Honestly, it wouldn’t be boastful to say he knew them better than they themselves. The issue was of how little faith and effort they put into...well...anything. But he’d seen what they were capable of, what they could do if they put their little war on pause and fought like a proper unit.

Yes, he threatened to shoot her if she didn’t back off. Every man had his limits and to be honest his had been exceeded for quite some time, although for once in recent memory he didn’t have Caboose to blame. Washington had gotten his revenge, with interest, all she was after was a pointless suicide run. He’d listened to her angrily rant night after night. He’d seen her stare longingly at York’s old lighter. He knew how much she hurt, but she’d never be able to heal if she kept locking herself away in the past and the endless possibilities of what might have been. He’d seen where that led. Hell, the reason they bore these scars was due to one man who couldn’t accept the death of one fucking woman. After everything they’d been through, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he’d have his fill and simply desired a peaceful retirement.

Yes, he turned his back on Epsilon during what could be called his most emotionally unstable moment. He owed that virtual asshole nothing. The bastard tore open his mind, ravaged everything he could get his hands on, and never stopped screaming. Even now he could still hear him in the back of his skull. He wasn’t exaggerating when he claimed he could never get a moment of peace. And Doc wondered why he had static playing on loop on his helmet's personal radio. Anything was better than dealing with that mess. All Epsilon wanted was answers he already had, a truth he admitted to finding on his own. He refused to let that virtual asshole drag him down any further.

He gave Alpha what he always craved, an end. A way to prevent him from ever going through those sadistic tests ever again. It was the one thing Epsilon had begged for more than revenge when he wasn’t ramming away at the inside of his skull. So, he made it part of his goal as well. Nothing like combining a last wish with his personal brand of revenge. Destroying any hope of the Director obtaining the one thing he craved above all else, the very thing he had been so willing to maim and slaughter highly skilled agents and innocents to grasp without ever dirtying his own hands. The Director really should have brushed up on his grade school records, he had a rather bad habit of never letting anything truly go. 

Killing the Director wouldn’t change what happened. It wouldn’t bring back their family. It wouldn’t restore their faith in each other. It wouldn’t take back the feeling of betrayal. It wouldn’t solve anything.

None of it would bring David back.

Washington had his fill of Carolina, so he felt nothing when he watched the two of them set out to die. He had a new mission, a new family, one he didn’t intend to endanger any further.

If only they weren’t so damned determined to fling themselves into the thick of it.

**Author's Note:**

> A brief look into the shattered mind of Agent Washington and his journey to contentment.


End file.
